KU coach Bill Self, associate AD Jim Marchiony aware of incident

Lawrence police have cited Kansas University basketball player Thomas Robinson to appear in municipal court on a misdemeanor battery charge in connection with an altercation outside a Lawrence nightclub, city prosecutor Jerry Little said Tuesday morning.

Little said officers informed him that they had cited Robinson, 20, in connection with an April 10 incident outside The Cave, a nightclub inside The Oread hotel and condominiums, 1200 Oread Ave.

Police have said two suspects were accused of hitting bouncers at 2:05 a.m. April 10 outside The Cave after bar staff said they broke up a large fight inside the club.

Capt. Paul Fellers in a statement said that police were called about a fight and that one bouncer, a 25-year-old Lawrence man, alleged that one suspect had struck him and then spit on him. A witness alleged a second suspect had hit another bouncer, a 23-year-old Lawrence man, Fellers said.

According to a police report, the two victims were not injured. Police did not identify the two suspects, but Sgt. Matt Sarna, a police spokesman, said Tuesday morning that only one person has been ticketed.

Adam Lauridsen, a bouncer at The Cave who worked the night of the incident, told the Journal-World that several members of the basketball team were outside the bar around closing time as staff members were clearing people out of the club.

One of the people who was accompanying basketball players — but not himself a player — got angry at another bouncer, Lauridsen said, and eventually hit him in the head.

Several members of the basketball team — including Robinson — began pulling the man away from the other bouncer, Lauridsen said.

During that scuffle, he saw Robinson appear to get angry.

“He hit one of my buddies in the head,” Lauridsen said, adding that he also saw Robinson spit on the bouncer.

Robinson is a current KU sophomore and post player from Washington, D.C. He announced earlier this month that he would return to KU for a third season instead of entering his name in June’s NBA draft.

“We are aware of this situation due to the fact that Thomas notified me immediately following his being interviewed by the police that morning, at approximately 2 a.m. about an incident that occurred just prior," KU coach Bill Self said. "Thomas is fully cooperating and we will not have any further comment about this situation as the investigation plays out.”

Sarna of the police department said the case remains under investigation and it’s possible other people could be charged. According to a police report, an officer did not check that Robinson was suspected of using alcohol.

Little, the city prosecutor, said officers served Robinson with the ticket Monday night. Police told Little that officers had been following up on the investigation in recent days, including interviewing other witnesses.

He said Robinson would have a court appearance in coming weeks or an attorney could appear in court on his behalf to schedule a later court date.

“We're handling it internally, and Thomas is handling it appropriately. That's all we're going to say at this point,” Jim Marchiony, an associate KU athletic director, said Tuesday.

Comments

I attended and had more than my share of fun at a 4 year university (60s-70s). Included were some huge private and bar parties. Alcohol and other fuels always present. Plenty of social fuel for anger as well.

Yet, I never witnessed, nor heard of multi-person brawls which seem to be cropping up every weekend not only here, but seemingly everywhere.

Maybe it's time to pass more serious penalties for this class of fighting.

They do start clearing people out at least 15 minutes before close, usually more. And there are always some folks who refuse to go, as if the bar is suddenly going to decide they get to stay and drink more. So then they end up being belligerent jerks who have to be personally cajoled to leave by the staff. You get one or two particularly stubborn jerks and this is what happens. I'd bet it happens a fair amount, but it's only "news" when a "celebrity" is involved.

Everyone is so quick to make judgments on this website. Were any of you there? Unless the answer is yes then be quiet. This isn't a clear cut case of a pre meditated felony or anything. You guys know nothing but what the paper wants to report which is "Star Basketball Player Cited for Battery" and all these jokers who want their names in the paper so they have some dramatic story every news reporter needs to hear. If this is the top story on LJWorld, then you guys need to check your priorities on the news you publish...

Writer on ESPN nailed it pretty good. On it's own, this would be a nothing incident quickly forgotten (except for MU or KState trolls who drop in when we lose). But taken with the multiple other violations large and small since the 2008 team departed like the Football feud, the Little misdemeanor last year, the DUI, etc., it does seem like this team is getting into trouble more.

And (to quote Dolph) AGAIN I ask: how are the attorney(s) paid for? Especially if these kids have no money of their own. Please, LJW, answer this one. And if Mr. Marchiony refuses to answer that question, at least let us know it's a secret.

Why should you even get to hear about this? So you can be sarcastic and meanspirited at someone's expense?
April 20, 2011 at 8:16 a.m.

Because it is news and this is a NEWSpaper. I get you are a KU fan by your unoriginal screen name. I understand you probably only prefer hear to hear positive news about Jayhawks. Unfortunately, news included both positive and negative stories. Numerous other battery cases are reported in this paper not involving KU basketball players.

I got in several near scrapes at that age mostly because of the people around me. The key point from this:
"One of the people who was accompanying basketball players — but not himself a player — got angry at another bouncer, Lauridsen said, and eventually hit him in the head."

I would think one of the hard parts about being a high profile athlete would be finding friends who didn't get you into compromising situations. This "friend" of the basketball players has a responsibility to them as well as to himself. Choose your friends wisely fellas.

Coach Self has to wake up in the night sometimes wondering why he does what he does. Yes, he makes big bucks, but what a nightmare! Herding cats would be easier. TRob should know better, but he's a kid, and he gets to be human too. He's been through a lot, so losing his temper is understandable. I'm not saying it isn't a big deal, but do you know anyone who would be a better candidate for a meltdown? Cut the guy some slack and see if he deals with this the right way. The big mistake is to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and drinking too much, and not staying in control of his emotions. Those are extremely poor choices that he made. Maybe he was jumping into a fray to help a friend and it was already out of control. It doesn't matter. Sometimes, even when someone is being a jerk to you and/or your group, you have to let it go and walk away. That goes for on and off the court.

Wasn't the Cave in the Oread Hotel created as a corral for KU's gangster athletes to keep them close to home and out of trouble? Shouldn't the Oread bouncers now be given full-ride scholarships to keep them from hassling our NFL and NBA hopefuls?